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Bench grinder flanges - to fix or not to fix?

Safety aspects of mounting abrasive wheels

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ega25/02/2011 19:43:13
2805 forum posts
219 photos
HSE advice (see hsg17.pdf on their website) is that the inner flange on grinders over 560 W should be secured to the spindle to prevent rotation. I have seen an 8" 900 W machine whose inner flanges were not secured other than by the friction of the securing nut and, noting that it carried a "CE" sticker, wondered whether the HSE requirement had been relaxed by Europe (the HSE document mentions the possibility of revision).
I have experience of two makes of 6" grinder both of which had the inner flange secured against rotation by a pin and this arrangement is shown as "normal" in Ian Bradley's book "The Grinding Machine" published by MAP in 1973, although the use of a pin is at least 100 years older.
We are all aware of the danger of wheels bursting. My impression is that the captive inner flange reduces the need to tighten the nut, over-tightening being one of the known causes of wheel failure. I have as yet been unable to verify whether the requirement has indeed been waived by Europe or what the reasoning for such a change might be. Any comments would be welcome.
All this might seem rather theoretical - we just want to sharpen the tool and get back to cutting metal - but it should certainly concern anyone thinking of buying a new machine. Grinders are sometimes designated as "offhand" but we probably should not be!
Dusty25/02/2011 20:30:54
498 forum posts
9 photos
Ega
I read this as advice, not as a legal requirement ,as much of the H.S.E. stuff is. They then use the advice as a stick to beat you with when something goes wrong. I agree with you that 'best practice' is what should happen but as we all know we live in the real world where we fall down sometimes.
ega30/03/2011 12:53:23
2805 forum posts
219 photos
Dusty - thanks for your input. I suspect that the bench grinder is something that, like the Champion spark plug, we "fit and forget". It just so happens that, since I posted, one of my grinders developed a loose RH nut, something that I have never had before.
I admit I had hoped some knowledgeable type would have answered my main question ie why is the inner flange not now secured against rotation?

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